I'm wondering if I should bother getting some Lira/Euro's before I arrive in Italy (next week ! :-) ), or just wait 'til we get to the airport and then hit an ATM? Do you know if there are any ATM's in the Rome airport (I would assume there are, but...)?

Thanks!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

There is an ATM in the Rome airport, but whenever I see it there is a long line. Also ATMs have been known to run out - so I would definately get some lire to take with you. The Euro will not be used in Italy until next January. We always bring several hundred dollars with us in lire, some US dollars for emergencies (a few $100 bills tucked away), and Amex travelers checks, and two credit cards each - in case something happened to one. But we are a little paranoid about running out of money.

We only use credit cards in Italy for hotels. Everything else we pay cash. Credit cards are more accepted now, but it is still not like in the US where you can use them for everything.

Don't forget to come back to this message board after your trip and tell us how it was!! Have a great time!!

I agree with Pauline...never leave home without some lire. Suggest you check with your bank--you can get lira from them usually with two day notice. The bank may charge you a nominal fee for this service.

Have a great trip.

But, we all have to spend all our lire on this trip because next year it will be the Euro. We usually bring home a few hundred dollars of lire to have on hand for the next trip. Of course that reasoning means that I have little envelopes of many different currencies sitting in a drawer.

Not me - I leave home with about $20USD and use the ATM upon arrival. There is one very close to baggage and il bagno in Rome and on the way out in Florence. Yes, there were a few people in line at Rome but it moved quickly.

You might think that Karen and I take chances, but I, too, have yet to have a problem arriving in Europe with no foreign currency and just going to the nearest ATM and getting some. The rates they give you are very good - as good, if not better, than going to a teller at a bank. And I don't worry about it at all.

The same with credit cards. When I've charged things in Europe, the exchange rate has been at least competitive with what's posted and frequently better. So if you want to use your credit card, I say, "use it". And if you decide not to travel with any lire in your pocket, you I doubt you'll have any problem getting money at an ATM in the airport.

David

I have always brought along about $50 - $100 of currency of the country I visit just in case .... a good emergency stash. More important, since I leave in two weeks I just did a survey of credit card use in Europe ... it goes like this:
[charges in Europe (CIE) ATM use (ATM)]

AMEX CIE 2 % ATM 3 %
VISA CIE 3 % minimum ATM 3 %Minimum
Mastercard CIE 1 % ATM 1 %
Citibank(with a $6,000 bal)CIE 0 % ATM 0 %

The fees for ATM usage are in addition to the fee the local bank charges.

Might be a good idea to do your own survey based on your banking relationship and your card status.

As an example, I was able to charge my auto rental (Hertz) for the month to my AMEX here in the states and save the 2% surcharge .. they sent me a fully paid voucher to present in Italy.

Steve:

Hm..... maybe I've been so pleased with my ATM transactions in Europe because I always use my Citibank card!

Thanks for that info.

David

Thank you everyone for the info - I have gone back and forth about wether or not to bring any. Now think I'll get a little, but mostly rely on finding an ATM...

But David, your response, with the charges, has me a little confused... can you explain like I'm an idiot? Did you just call all these companies and ask what fees they had for conversions?

The last time I was in Italy I think I mainly used my ATM card and AMEX, but I did take some Lire ($50?) and travelers checks with me.

Julie

Okay - so you guys are less paranoid that Steve and I. But what if the ATM at the Rome airport is broken? What if your bank decides to cancel your ATM card? What if your pin is more than 4 digits (I heard you can only use 4 digit pins on ATM machines in Europe - our PIN is 4 digits, so I haven't been able to test it out)?

We go with several hundred dollars in lire - that way we don't have to worry about finding an ATM for awhile.

Julie, it was Steve F who posted the ATM charges information. It is easy to confuse him and David because they are both so good looking (and from NY). I don't have a CitiBank card - even though they offer me one every week! I will have a look into this too. Maybe just go to their web sites? Do they hide those charges in with the exchange rate? I figure you are going to get screwed somehow anyway on any type of exchange - those banks have to make their money somewhere. Besides, our dollar is riding so high that we are doing pretty good with our money over there.

As a PS to this thread...... we're flying into Bologna in a few weeks and I'm not planning to take any lire with me. I'm assuming that there's an ATM there, although it's not a large airport...... I'll report back if there's anything to report either way.

David

CrewJulie
If you take money out of an ATM they will charge you 3 % of the amount withdrawn in addition to the local bank fees. If you charge dinner or a purchase they will charge you an additional 3 % on the purchase price. They call it a conversion fee.
When I was in Paris in April I used my AMEX card for just about everything because I knew that there were no additional charges. In May of this year they sent out a notice that from now on they would charge a conversion fee on all out-of-country usage !!!(just like the other companies) Bummer!!! ... Sooo, I started looking for an alternative and called CITI, VISA and Mastercard and asked each one what their policies were. What I gave you is what I found. But again, you should check it out based on your relationships etc etc. It's not a lot of money but it gripes me to have to pay a percentage to someone to get my own money .... and why should you pay 3% additional for everything you do when you can pay 1% or even nothing!!!

Hope this is a help
To Pauline: Thank you, but David is so much younger!!

Steve:

Thanks for the detailed info. That's really good to know about.

As far as me being younger.......well, I suppose I am, but..... what of it? I'm sure that we're both aging beauties in our own way!

David

My husband and I are renting "villas" in Tuscany and Umbria for 2 weeks in September(one is LaFornacina, thank you very much, Pauline!!) While this is our 3rd trip to Italy, it is our first in the "country" and small towns. I do plan to bring about $300 in lire, but I'm wondering about the availability of ATM's in the small towns in Tuscany--and also, do restaurants in smaller towns like Montisi, Pienza, etc. generally accept Visa?

Thanks for your help. I promise to post a review of the Umbrian townhouse (from Vacationspot.com) and a trip report when we return.

Barbara! What week do you have La Fornacina? We are there Sept 22 - Oct 13. Helga is there two weeks before us, if I remember right. So must be Sept 8 - 15.

Helga is going to leave a message for me hidden in the house. If you are there first, you can leave the first message. If you are inbetween - add to her message. This how we are doing it. Find the first bookshelf you come to from the front door. I remember one in the entrance way. Facing the bookshelf, put the message inside the top most, left most book.

Of course I want you to write a review of La Fornacina too!! I will put you on the future reviews page.

Have I talked to you before and I am just forgetting? You will love La Fornacina!!

Hi, Pauline,

No, we haven't talked, I've just been devouring your website for several months. It's wonderful! We'll be at La Fornacina from Sept 1-8, then Casa Francescani for the folowing week.
http://vacationspot.com/showproperty.htm?key=16029&siteid=1

I like your concept of message-leaving. Back to my original question--are ATM's readily available in the area??

Thanks and have a wonderful trip,

Barbara

And now to answer your question. Yes, there are ATMs everywhere, even the small towns. At La Fornacina you will be 10 minutes drive from Pienza which will have ATMs for sure.

Try these web sites - -

Mastercard ATM locator: http://www.mastercard.com/cgi-bin/atm/atm_country.cgi?country=ita

Visa ATM locator: http://visaatm.infonow.net/bin/findNow?DEFAULT=DEFAULT&CLIENT_ID=VISA

I don't find any in Montisi, but there are some in towns nearby.

Personally, I would bring more like $1000 in lire with me. You are going to spend it anyway - why not start off with it in cash? But that is just me! And I would have travelers checks as a backup - we carried the same $2000 in travelers checks for the last several trips.

I have heard that you can only use ATM cards with a 4-digit pin. Ours has a 4 digit pin, and it usually works. We have run into machines where it doesn't work. We also travel with about three different ATM cards between us. Has anyone used a more than 4 digit pin in Italy?

Now, as far as credit cards in restaurants go - some take them, some don't. It usually says in the guidebook listing. We never use credit cards in restaurants or shops - hotels only. Maybe we will use them more on this next trip.

Maybe we like to use cash in Europe because we started traveling in Europe back in the days (only a decade ago) when there were not ATMs and credit cards were not accepted in many places. We would go to an AMEX office every 21 days and write a check on our home account and get piles of cash. This was when we spent a year in Europe, traveling around.

Hey Barbara - we are posting at the same time!! Just like instant messaging. You will be the first one of us at La Fornacina - you get to start the message. Write down the things you do and places and restaurants you like. And any other helpful hints.

Just to add my 2 cents worth- I use my VISA card and ATM card a lot in Italy. ATMs are called Bancomat; look for the sign. They always offer a choice of languages for the transaction. You do need a 4 digit code; if you use a letter or word for your code here look at the keyboard at your bank and remember the corresponding numbers. There are also money-changing machines that will take US currency and give excellent exchange rates. I usually bring $200 or so in $20 dollar bills in case of... I'm not quite sure what. But I got into the habit of using the currency exchange machines when they appeared in the late 80s, and although I primarily use the bancomat now, they are my backup. I have never used travelers' checks, but for me it's the same idea. I think sometimes people have problems with the bancomat because they request too much money. There is a 500,000 lira limit per 24 hrs, regardless of what your limit at your own bank is. I had this problem a few years ago and my Florentine brother-in-law explained that even Berlusconi probably couldn't withdraw more than 500,000 lira in a 24 hr period. This only applies to cash transactions- my ATM card works in the grocery store in Firenze just like it works here in Boston, (which always feels a little surreal to me) and I can still get cash at the bancomat the same day. There are restaurants and small hotels that don't take credit cards but do accept debit (bancomat) cards because the fees they are charged differ.
The only problem i've ever had using my VISA card in a store was on Jan 7, 2 years ago (the beginning of the winter sales in Toscana) because the transmission lines were overloaded by the volume!! I proudly say I did my part to clog the lines that day.

Thanks Maureen - I forgot about that daily limit.

Okay Pauline and Barbara, now I feel like secret agent man! Will I need my decoder ring? I just hope I have something of importance to leave in the secret spot that the whole world now knows about! This is hilarious.

49 more days!

Over and Out

With all due respect, I don't think that some confusion is occuring in the discussion about ATM's. If one uses his/her regular bank ATM card, you probably get as good an exchange rate going and you will pay whatever fee your bank charges for use of an ATM machine that is not theirs. My bank charges $2.00. In using the ATM machine, you probably do best when you take out the maximum amount possible - - usually 500,000 lire since it cuts down your cost. HOWEVER, when you use a credit card and are basically taking out a cash advance, you'll have the advantage of the better exchange rate but you are going to start paying interest on the amount withdrawn from the time of the transaction. In these circumstances you are best off using your bank ATM charge.

Pauline is correct in pointing out some of the problems of the ATM card. For example, I had my pocket picked in Paris last year and lost all my cards. Fortunately, my wife had her ATM card with her. So if travelling with a spouse, friends, group, etc., it is wise to make sure that there will be several ATM cards going along on the trip.

Finally, between ATM cards and credit cards for purchases,
one can really minimize the amount of cash and travellers cheques that he/she takes along on a trip.

Martin
Italian Vacation Villas